Alternator and trans question...

I just replaced my alternator with a new 110 amp one from Napa. I also traded my Everstart Maxx battery for a new one from Wally World at the time of the alternator replacement (3 year warranty- woohoo!). I went to start my car this morning and the battery was dead. I borrowed my Ford pickup battery to start it up and placed the Maxx back into it to charge. While it was charging, I hooked up my Bluepoint multimeter to it to see what the charging voltage was. I was only getting 13.1 tops and dips to 12.9 at the actual battery terminals (not battery posts). I popped off the rubber boot at the alternator and I got 13.3 volts. I do have an underdrive pulley installed so I increased the engine speed to see the max charging voltage at the alternator. It wouldn't go above 13.3! So then I removed the battery wires to see the difference. I got 13.8 volts then. The battery measures 12.1 volts with the engine off. Do you guys think that my alternator is sickly, my battery is defective, or everything is ok? I saw a crankshaft pulley from a newish Subaru wagon w/ a 2.2L engine in it at the junkyard the other day, so I swiped it thinking that it might work on my SVX (haven't tried it yet). You think the crankshaft pulley might be the culprit even though the voltage didn't change when I increased the engine speed? I'm going to do the bigger wiring mod this weekend in hopes of getting back at least the .2 volt difference between the alternator terminal and the battery terminal. On a side note, you'll think the trans from that 2.2L wagon might work in my SVX? It was an automatic. If so what do I need from the car to make it work. Any other parts from the car might work on my SVX? Sorry I don't know the year or model of the wagon as some brilliant soul had remove the serial numbers and year plates from the car. Just know it was a 2.2L automatic fairly new...

Thanks,
cagey

Oh yeah, I do have an Phoenix Gold Xenon 200.4 amplifier installed in the car and an AutoPage RS-860 LCD alarm system. The AutoPage has problems remote starting the car as the starter sounds "weak". I thought about replacing the starter as a precaution, but how can a starter kill a battery? It only three revolutions before the engine fires and the battery can't muster that on a consistent basis. Sometimes the battery can only turn the engine over 1 time on a remote start. The AutoPage will cycle again, and it turns the engine about 3 times and the car is running. It's like the battery is "waking up". BTW the amp is rated to draw 120 amps, at full load, but due to the dynamic nature of music, that shouldn't occur often enough to kill the battery.

Thanks,
Cagey

[dannmarr]

If the alt is not fully restoring the battery charge, then the battery is constantly over working to make up the difference. This usually kills a cell in the battery and it won't hold a full charge anymore. Clean all your teminals and do the alt upgrade. Good luck.

[Earthworm]

You should see around 14.5V at the alternator while the car is running. Higher if the battery terminals are loose.

It's NOT the crank pulley. The crank pulley only causes poor charging at idle.

Almost got the upgrade finished. Will finish tomorrow as I had to drive 45 miles one way to get the 4 gauge wire and ends. I left my multimeter at my parent's house so I'll post my results tomorrow. I was thinking that I should see at least 14.4 volts at the alternator post.

Thanks guys,

Cagey

Hmmm is there anything else in the SVX that would keep the alternator from charging at 14.5 volts? I mean could something else be the culprit?

Thanks,
Cagey

[Earthworm]

Unless something is draining that much power I don't think so.

The heated mirrors are a HUGE power drain on mine.

[DarknessofDeath]

is the battery dirty?
leaks? cracks?
these contribute to the battery self discharging itself.
defective battery- it could happen.
......but with the car running....it must be something that drains power a lot.....
not likely but the rear defogger draws the most out of the battery...(general with all cars_)

[dannmarr]

If the volt regulator isn't working properly, the alt thinks the battery is at full charge and won't continue to charge. That was my problem, I had the volt regulator replaced and the plug that goes into it. Also if the battery has a dead cell, it won't charge completly. Have the alt and battery checked.

[DarknessofDeath]

isn't there some plug beside the power steering reservoir that is the plug for the batter charging or something like that...i read that in some other thread.. if it was having connection problems then it would be not charging the battery correctly...same idea...that it reads that the battery is charged..???

Well, I've been riding so much that I couldn't post what my results were. I now have 14.5 volts at the battery posts with the lights on and the stereo on low! Still haven't run the ground wire to the body yet. Just want to say thanks guys for the great how to articles, information, and support. I left the underdrive pulley installed. Stereo sounds better (more punch), cruise controls button actually works with only one push, engine doesn't shake as bad, who knows what else! I'm using my dad's Napa battery until I can get back to Wally World to exchange the battery again. I don't want to put that one back in there in case of a bad cell due to the lack of voltage. Oh yeah my dad's battery reads 12.8 with the engine off!

Thanks,
Cagey